What genres of literature are characterized by melodiousness and slowness? Types of literary genres by form

Then to:

a) learn mastery in your genre;
b) know exactly which publisher to offer the manuscript to;
c) study your target audience and offer the book not “to everyone”, but specifically to those people who may be interested in it.

What is fiction?

Fiction means all works that have fictional plot And fictional characters: novels, stories, stories and plays.

Memoirs are classified as non-fiction because we're talking about about non-fictional events, but they are written according to the canons fiction- with plot, characters, etc.

But poetry, including song lyrics, is fiction, even if the author recalls a past love that actually happened.

Types of Fiction for Adults

Works of fiction are divided into genre literature, mainstream and intellectual prose.

Genre literature

IN genre literature The plot plays the first fiddle, while it fits into certain, pre-known frameworks.

This doesn't mean that all genre novels have to be predictable. The skill of a writer lies precisely in creating, under given conditions, unique world, unforgettable characters and an interesting way to get from point “A” (the beginning) to point “B” (the outcome).

Usually, genre work ends on a positive note, the author does not delve into psychology and other lofty matters and tries to simply entertain readers.

Basic plot schemes in genre literature

Detective: crime - investigation - exposing the criminal.

Love story: heroes meet - fall in love - fight for love - connect hearts.

Thriller: the hero lived his ordinary life- a threat arises - the hero tries to escape - the hero gets rid of the danger.

Adventures: the hero sets a goal for himself and, having overcome many obstacles, achieves what he wants.

When we talk about science fiction, fantasy, historical or modern novel, we are talking not so much about the plot as about the scenery, so when defining the genre, two or three terms are used that allow us to answer the questions: “What happens in the novel?” and “Where is it happening?” If we are talking about children's literature, then a corresponding note is made.

Examples: "modern" love story", "fantastic action movie" (action movie is an adventure), "historical detective story", "children's adventure story", "fairy tale for primary school age".

Genre prose is usually published in series - either original or general.

Mainstream

In the mainstream (from English. mainstream- main flow) readers expect from the author unexpected decisions. For this type of book, the most important thing is moral development heroes, philosophy and ideology. The requirements for a mainstream author are much higher than for writers working with genre prose: he must not only be an excellent storyteller, but also a good psychologist and a serious thinker.

Another important sign of the mainstream is that such books are written at the intersection of genres. For example, it is impossible to say unequivocally that Gone with the Wind is only romance novel or only historical drama.

By the way, the drama itself, that is, the story about the tragic experience of the heroes, is also a sign of the mainstream.

As a rule, novels of this type are published outside of series. This is due to the fact that serious works take a long time to write and forming a series out of them is quite problematic. Moreover, mainstream authors are so different from each other that it is difficult to group their books into anything other than “good book.”

When specifying a genre in mainstream novels, the emphasis is usually placed not so much on the plot, but on certain features books: historical drama, novel in letters, fantasy saga, etc.

Origin of the term

The term “mainstream” itself arose thanks to American writer and criticism to William Dean Howells (1837–1920). As the editor of one of the most popular and influential literary magazines of its time, The Atlantic Monthly, he gave a clear preference to works written in a realistic vein and focusing on moral and philosophical issues.

Thanks to Howells realistic literature became fashionable, and for some time it was called the mainstream. The term stuck in English language, and from there moved to Russia.

Intellectual prose

In the vast majority of cases, intellectual prose has a dark mood and is published outside of series.

Main genres of fiction

Approximate classification

When submitting an application to a publishing house, we must indicate the genre so that our manuscript is sent to the appropriate editor.

Below is an approximate list of genres as they are understood by publishing houses and bookstores.

Avant-garde literature. Characterized by violation of canons and language and plot experiments. As a rule, avant-garde works are published in very small editions. Closely intertwined with intellectual prose.
Action. Targeted primarily at a male audience. The basis of the plot is fights, chases, saving beauties, etc.
Detective. The main storyline is solving a crime.
Historical novel. The time of action is the past. The plot is usually tied to significant historical events.
Love story. Heroes find love.
Mystic. The plot is based on supernatural events.
Adventures. The heroes get involved in an adventure and/or go on a risky journey.
Thriller/horror. The heroes are in mortal danger, from which they are trying to get rid of.
Fantastic. The plot takes place in a hypothetical future or parallel world. One of the types of fiction is alternative history.
Fantasy/fairy tales. The main features of the genre are fairy worlds, magic, unseen creatures, talking animals, etc. Often based on folklore.

What is non-fiction?

Non-fiction books are classified by topic (for example, gardening, history, etc.) and type (scientific monograph, collection of articles, photo album, etc.).

Below is a classification of non-fiction books, as it is done in bookstores. When submitting an application to a publisher, indicate the topic and type of book - for example, a textbook on writing.

Classification of non-fiction literature

autobiographies, biographies and memoirs;
architecture and art;
astrology and esoterics;
business and finance;
armed forces;
upbringing and education;
house, garden, vegetable garden;
health;
story;
career;
computers;
local history;
love and family relationships;
fashion and beauty;
music, cinema, radio;
science and technology;
food and cooking;
gift editions;
politics, economics, law;
guidebooks and travel books;
religion;
self-development and psychology;
Agriculture;
dictionaries and encyclopedias;
sport;
philosophy;
hobby;
school textbooks;
linguistics and literature.

by content

Literature

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See what “Literary genre” is in other dictionaries:

NOVEL (French roman, German Roman; English novel/romance; Spanish novela, Italian romanzo), central genre (see GENRE) European literature New time (see NEW TIME (in history)), fictional, in contrast to the neighboring genre of the story (see ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Elegy (έλεγεία) lyric poem a sad, pensive mood: this is the content that is now usually put into a word, which in previous poetics had a different meaning. Its etymology is controversial: it is derived from the supposed refrain έ λέγε ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Currently, the most popular and content-rich form literary works, reflecting in itself modern life with all the variety of issues that concern her. To achieve such a universal meaning, the novel needed... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

One of the ancient laments literary genres, characterized by lyrical and dramatic improvisation on the themes of misfortune, death, etc. It can be written in both poetry and prose. The style of crying is used, in particular, in some texts of the Bible... Wikipedia

- (poetic) a certain type of literary work. The main genres can be considered epic, lyrical and dramatic, but it would be more accurate to apply this term to their individual varieties, such as an adventure novel, a clownish comedy... Literary encyclopedia

Genre- GENRE (poetic) a certain type of literary work. The main genres can be considered epic, lyrical and dramatic, but it would be more correct to apply this term to their individual varieties, such as the adventure novel,... ... Dictionary literary terms

- (historical and special used in cinema) a completed film-dramatic work. It must contain a complete, consistent and specific description of the plot, consisting of developed scenes and episodes, dialogues and reveal images... ... Wikipedia

GENRE- literary (from the French genre genus, type), historically developing type of literary work (novel, poem, ballad, etc.); V theoretical concept about J. the features characteristic of a more or less extensive group of works are generalized... ... Literary encyclopedic dictionary

A; m. [French] genre] 1. A historically established type of art or literature, characterized by certain plot, compositional, stylistic and other features; individual species of this genus. Musical and literary genres... encyclopedic Dictionary

The above types of classification are not mutually exclusive, but demonstrate different approaches to defining genres. Therefore, the same book can refer to several of them at once.

Classification of literary genres by type

When classifying literary genres by gender, they start from the author’s attitude to what is being presented. The basis for this classification was laid by Aristotle. According to this principle, there are four major genre: epic, lyrical, dramatic and lyric-epic. Each of them has its own “subgenres”.

IN epic genres it tells about events that have already happened, and the author writes them down according to his memories, while he distances himself as much as possible from assessing what was said. These include epic novels, short stories, myths, ballads, fables and epics.

Lyrical genre involves the transfer of feelings experienced by the author in the form of a literary work in poetic form. These include odes, epigrams, epistles and stanzas.

A classic example of stanzas is Byron's Childe Harold.

The lyric-epic genre combines the characteristics of the epic and lyrical genres. These include ballads and poems, in which there is both a plot and author's attitude to what is happening.

Dramatic genre exists at the intersection of literature and theater. Nominally it includes dramas, comedies and tragedies with a list of the characters involved at the beginning and author's notes in the main text. However, in fact, it can be any work written in the form of a dialogue.

Classification of literary genres by content

If we define works by content, then they are combined into three large groups: comedies, tragedies and dramas. Tragedy and drama, telling, respectively, about tragic fate heroes and about the emergence and overcoming of conflict are quite homogeneous. Comedies are divided into several types, according to the action taking place: parody, farce, vaudeville, sitcom and character comedy, sketch and sideshow.

Classification of literary genres by form

When classifying genres by form, only formal features such as the structure and volume of the work are taken into account, regardless of their content.

Most clearly classified in this way lyrical works, in prose the boundaries are more blurred.

According to this principle, thirteen genres are distinguished: epic, epic, novel, short story, sketch, play, sketch, essay, opus, ode and visions.

Sources:

“Theory of Literature”, V. V. Prozorov, 1987
“Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions”, N. D. Tamarchenko, 1999

Literary is a class of texts that have a similar structure, content, and limit of variability. There are many genre ov text, and you need to know their characteristics if you do not want to make a mistake in choosing the type.

Instructions

In order to correctly characterize the text and attribute it to a specific genre oh, please read the work carefully. Think about whether it amuses you or upsets you, conveys the author’s feelings towards his characters or simply tells about some events, struggles with insurmountable circumstances or with himself? If you can understand the text, you will easily find its literary genre.

There are three ways to classify literary genre ov. They are grouped by form, resulting in such types as essay, story, ode. A play is a writer’s creation intended to be performed on stage, a story is a short narrative work in prose. What distinguishes a novel from a short story is its scale. It tells about life and development

A literary genre is a group of literary works that have common historical development trends and are united by a set of properties in their content and form. Sometimes this term is confused with the concepts of “type” and “form”. Today there is no single clear classification of genres. Literary works are divided according to a certain number characteristic features.

History of genre formation

The first systematization of literary genres was presented by Aristotle in his Poetics. Thanks to this work, the impression began to emerge that the literary genre is a natural, stable system that requires the author to fully comply with the principles and canons a certain genre. Over time, this led to the formation of a number of poetics that strictly prescribed to authors exactly how they should write a tragedy, ode or comedy. Long years these requirements remained unshakable.

Decisive changes in the system of literary genres began only towards the end of the 18th century.

At the same time literary works aimed at artistic exploration, in their attempts to distance themselves as much as possible from genre divisions, gradually came to the emergence of new phenomena unique to literature.

What literary genres exist

To understand how to determine the genre of a work, you need to familiarize yourself with the existing classifications and the characteristic features of each of them.

Below is an approximate table for determining the type of existing literary genres

by birth	epic	fable, epic, ballad, myth, short story, tale, short story, novel, fairy tale, fantasy, epic
	lyrical	ode, message, stanzas, elegy, epigram
	lyric-epic	ballad, poem
	dramatic	drama, comedy, tragedy
by content	comedy	farce, vaudeville, sideshow, sketch, parody, sitcom, mystery comedy
	tragedy
	drama
according to form	visions short story epic story anecdote novel ode epic play essay sketch

Division of genres by content

Classification literary trends based on content includes comedy, tragedy and drama.

Comedy is a type of literature, which provides a humorous approach. Varieties of comic direction are:

There are also comedy of characters and sitcoms. In the first case, the source of humorous content is internal features characters, their vices or shortcomings. In the second case, comedy manifests itself in current circumstances and situations.

Tragedy - dramatic genre with an obligatory catastrophic outcome, the opposite of the comedy genre. Typically, tragedy reflects the deepest conflicts and contradictions. The plot is of the most intense nature. In some cases, tragedies are written in poetic form.

Drama – special kind fiction, where the events taking place are conveyed not through their direct description, but through monologues or dialogues of the characters. Drama like literary phenomenon existed among many peoples even at the level of works of folklore. Initially in Greek this term meant a sad event that affects one specific person. Subsequently, drama began to represent a wider range of works.

The most famous prose genres

The category of prose genres includes literary works of various lengths, written in prose.

Novel

A novel is a prose literary genre that involves a detailed narrative about the fate of the heroes and certain critical periods of their lives. The name of this genre dates back to the 12th century, when were born knight stories"in the vernacular Romance language" as the opposite of Latin historiography. The short story began to be considered a plot type of novel. IN late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century such concepts as detective novel appeared in literature, women's novel, fantasy novel.

Novella

Novella - a variety prose genre. Her birth was caused by the famous collection "Decameron" Giovanni Boccaccio . Subsequently, several collections based on the model of the Decameron were published.

The era of romanticism introduced elements of mysticism and phantasmagorism into the short story genre - examples include the works of Hoffmann and Edgar Allan Poe. On the other hand, the works of Prosper Merimee bore the features of realistic stories.

Novella as short story with a sharp plot has become a characteristic genre for American literature.

Characteristics the novellas are:

Maximum brevity of presentation.
The poignancy and even paradoxical nature of the plot.
Neutrality of style.
Lack of descriptiveness and psychologism in the presentation.
An unexpected ending, always containing an extraordinary turn of events.

Tale

A story is prose of a relatively small volume. The plot of the story, as a rule, is in the nature of reproducing natural life events. Usually the story reveals the fate and personality of the hero against the backdrop of current events. A classic example is “Tales of the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin” by A.S. Pushkin.

Story

It's called a story small form prose work, which originates from folklore genres - parables and fairy tales. Some literary experts as a type of genre review essays, essays and short stories. Usually the story is characterized by a small volume, one storyline and a small number of characters. Stories are characteristic of literary works of the 20th century.

Play

It's called a play dramatic work, which is created for the purpose of subsequent theatrical production.

The structure of the play usually includes phrases from the characters and the author's remarks describing the environment or the actions of the characters. At the beginning of the play there is always a list of characters With brief description their appearance, age, character, etc.

The whole play is divided into large parts - acts or actions. Each action, in turn, is divided into smaller elements - scenes, episodes, pictures.

The plays of J.B. have won great fame in world art. Moliere (“Tartuffe”, “The Imaginary Invalid”) B. Shaw (“Wait and see”), B. Brecht (“The Good Man from Szechwan”, “The Threepenny Opera”).

Description and examples of individual genres

Let's look at the most common and significant examples of literary genres for world culture.

Poem

A poem is a large work of poetry that has a lyrical plot or describes a sequence of events. Historically, the poem was “born” from the epic

In turn, a poem can have many genre varieties:

Didactic.
Heroic.
Burlesque,
Satirical.
Ironic.
Romantic.
Lyrical-dramatic.

Initially, the leading themes for the creation of poems were world-historical or important religious events and themes. An example of such a poem would be Virgil's Aeneid., “The Divine Comedy” by Dante, “Jerusalem Liberated” by T. Tasso, “ Lost heaven"J. Milton, Voltaire's Henriad, etc.

At the same time, it developed romantic poem- “The Knight in the Leopard’s Skin” by Shota Rustaveli, “ Furious Roland» L. Ariosto. This type of poem to a certain extent echoes the tradition of medieval chivalric novels.

Over time, moral, philosophical and social issues(“Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” by J. Byron, “The Demon” by M. Yu. Lermontov).

IN XIX-XX centuries the poem begins more and more become realistic(“Frost, Red Nose”, “Who Lives Well in Rus'” by N.A. Nekrasov, “Vasily Terkin” by A.T. Tvardovsky).

Epic

An epic is usually understood as a set of works that are combined common era, nationality, theme.

The emergence of each epic is conditioned by certain historical circumstances. As a rule, an epic claims to be an objective and authentic account of events.

Visions

This peculiar narrative genre, When the story is told from a person's point of view ostensibly experiencing a dream, lethargy, or hallucination.

Already in the era of antiquity, under the guise of real visions, they began to describe fictional events in the form of visions. The authors of the first visions were Cicero, Plutarch, Plato.
In the Middle Ages, the genre began to gain momentum in popularity, reaching its peak with Dante in his " Divine Comedy", which in its form represents a detailed vision.
For some time there were visions integral part church literature of most European countries. The editors of such visions were always representatives of the clergy, thus gaining the opportunity to express their personal views supposedly on behalf of higher powers.
Over time, new acute social satirical content was put into the form of visions (“Visions of Peter the Plowman” by Langland).

In more modern literature the genre of visions began to be used to introduce elements of fantasy.

The list is not complete yet, since it only includes questions from tickets for secondary school or basic level (and were not included, respectively, - in-depth study or profile level and national school).

"The Life of Boris and Gleb" end XI - beginning. XII century

"The Tale of Igor's Host" late 12th century.

W. Shakespeare – (1564 – 1616)

"Romeo and Juliet" 1592

J-B. Moliere – (1622 – 1673)

"The tradesman among the nobility" 1670

M.V. Lomonosov – (1711 – 1765)

DI. Fonvizin - (1745 – 1792)

"Undergrowth" 1782

A.N. Radishchev – (1749 – 1802)

G.R. Derzhavin – (1743 – 1816)

N.M. Karamzin – (1766 – 1826)

"Poor Lisa" 1792

J. G. Byron – (1788 – 1824)

I.A. Krylov – (1769 – 1844)

"Wolf in the kennel" 1812

V.A. Zhukovsky – (1783 – 1852)

"Svetlana" 1812

A.S. Griboedov – (1795 – 1829)

"Woe from Wit" 1824

A.S. Pushkin – (1799 – 1837)

"Belkin's Tales" 1829-1830

"Shot" 1829

"Stationmaster" 1829

"Dubrovsky" 1833

"The Bronze Horseman" 1833

"Eugene Onegin" 1823-1838

"The Captain's Daughter" 1836

A.V. Koltsov – (1808 – 1842)

M.Yu. Lermontov – (1814 – 1841)

"A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, the young guardsman and the daring merchant Kalashnikov." 1837

"Borodino" 1837

"Mtsyri" 1839

"Hero of Our Time" 1840

"Farewell, unwashed Russia" 1841

"Motherland" 1841

N.V. Gogol – (1809 – 1852)

"Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" 1829-1832

"The Inspector General" 1836

"Overcoat" 1839

"Taras Bulba" 1833-1842

"Dead Souls" 1842

I.S. Nikitin – (1824 – 1861)

F.I. Tyutchev – (1803 – 1873)

"There is in the primordial autumn..." 1857

I.A. Goncharov – (1812 – 1891)

"Oblomov" 1859

I.S. Turgenev – (1818 – 1883)

"Bezhin Meadow" 1851

"Asya" 1857

"Fathers and Sons" 1862

"Shchi" 1878

ON THE. Nekrasov – (1821 – 1878)

"Railroad" 1864

"Who Lives Well in Rus'" 1873-76

F.M. Dostoevsky – (1821 – 1881)

"Crime and Punishment" 1866

"The Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree" 1876

A.N. Ostrovsky – (1823 – 1886)

"Our people - we'll be numbered!" 1849

"Thunderstorm" 1860

A.A. Fet – (1820 – 1892)

M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin – (1826-1889)

"Wild Landowner" 1869

"The story of how one man fed two generals" 1869

"The Wise Minnow" 1883

"Bear in the Voivodeship" 1884

N.S. Leskov – (1831 – 1895)

"Lefty" 1881

L.N. Tolstoy – (1828 – 1910)

"War and Peace" 1867-1869

"After the Ball" 1903

A.P. Chekhov – (1860 – 1904)

"Death of an Official" 1883

"Ionych" 1898

"The Cherry Orchard" 1903

M. Gorky – (1868 – 1936)

"Makar Chudra" 1892

"Chelkash" 1894

"Old Woman Izergil" 1895

"At the Bottom" 1902

A.A. Blok – (1880 – 1921)

"Poems about beautiful lady" 1904

"Russia" 1908

cycle "Motherland" 1907-1916

"Twelve" 1918

S.A. Yesenin – (1895 – 1925)

“I don’t regret, I don’t call, I don’t cry...” 1921

V.V. Mayakovsky (1893 – 1930)

"Good Treatment for Horses" 1918

A.S. Green – (1880 – 1932)

A.I.Kuprin – (1870 – 1938)

I.A. Bunin – (1879 – 1953)

O.E. Mandelstam – (1891 – 1938)

M.A. Bulgakov – (1891 – 1940)

"White Guard" 1922-1924

"Heart of a Dog" 1925

"The Master and Margarita" 1928-1940

M.I. Tsvetaeva – (1892 – 1941)

A.P. Platonov – (1899 – 1951)

B.L. Pasternak – (1890-1960)

"Doctor Zhivago" 1955

A.A. Akhmatova – (1889 – 1966)

"Requiem" 1935-40

K.G. Paustovsky – (1892 – 1968)

"Telegram" 1946

M.A. Sholokhov – (1905 – 1984)

"Quiet Don" 1927-28

"Virgin Soil Upturned" t1-1932, t2-1959)

"The Fate of Man" 1956

A.T. Tvardovsky – (1910 – 1971)

"Vasily Terkin" 1941-1945

V.M. Shukshin – (1929 – 1974)

V.P. Astafiev – (1924 – 2001)

A.I. Solzhenitsyn – (born 1918)

"Matrenin's Dvor" 1961

V.G. Rasputin – (born 1937)

The idea of protecting the Russian land in works of oral folk art (fairy tales, epics, songs).

The work of one of the poets of the Silver Age.

Originality art world one of the poets of the Silver Age (using the example of 2-3 poems of the examinee’s choice).

The Great Patriotic War in Russian prose. (Using the example of one work.)

The feat of man in war. (Based on one of the works about the Great Patriotic War.)

Great Theme Patriotic War in the prose of the twentieth century. (Using the example of one work.)

Military theme in modern literature. (Using the example of one or two works.)

Your favorite poet in Russian literature of the 20th century. Reading his poem by heart.

Russian poets of the 20th century about the spiritual beauty of man. Reading one poem by heart.

Features of the work of one of the modern Russian poets of the second half of the twentieth century. (at the choice of the examinee).

Your favorite poems modern poets. Reading one poem by heart.

Your favorite poet. Reading one of the poems by heart.

Love theme in modern poetry. Reading one poem by heart.

Man and nature in Russian prose of the 20th century. (Using the example of one work.)

Man and nature in modern literature. (Using the example of one or two works.)

Man and nature in Russian poetry of the 20th century. Reading one poem by heart.

Your favorite literary character.

Review of the book modern writer: impressions and assessment.

One of the works of modern literature: impressions and assessment.

A book by a modern writer that you have read. Your impressions and assessment.

Your contemporary in modern literature. (For one or more works.)

Yours favorite piece modern literature.

Moral issues of modern Russian prose (using the example of a work of the examinee’s choice).

The main themes and ideas of modern journalism. (Using the example of one or two works.)

Heroes and problems of one of the works of modern Russian drama of the second half of the twentieth century. (at the choice of the examinee).